Anything for you
by Ryou-hyung
Summary: As per the storyline, the Yondaime sealed the Kyuubi into his child- except his child is actually a girl. Fearing for her safety, he left a seal on her that would transform her into a guy. But what if after the Yondaime dies, a little snake comes along and kidnaps her? What would become of Naruto? Strong Naruto, Fem!Naru. Pairings will be kept a secret for now.
1. Chapter 1: Release

(Prologue- 6 years ago)

The trees rustled slightly in the breeze. Then, nothing. After taking a moment to confirm that there was no one nearby, the silhouette gracefully leapt out of the tree. Long hair shielded his features as the man stood up to his full height of 1.8 metres. Slitted pupils stared at the family of three. What looked like eyeliner outlined the man's eyes as a twisted grin hung across his lips.

"Kukuku. What a lucky day it is. "

(An hour earlier)

Orochimaru had been working on some experiments in his underground lab, when loud explosions wrecked the place. Countless of precious samples were destroyed in an instant, enraging the man. Annoyed, Orochimaru had stalked out of his lab, only to find a monstrous fox several times his size, directly above where his lab was. To think the famous Kyuubi no Kitsune would appear right at his doorstep. Orochimaru had little time to question its appearance, before the hateful combination of yellow against blue appeared within his vision. Orochimaru's features twisted into a distasteful sneer, but was soon replaced with cruel delight.

Orochimaru chuckled evilly. What better way to enact his revenge against the cursed blonde than to slowly enjoy his demise. Now if he could only engrave this memory, Orochimaru wistfully considered in almost childish delight as he slipped into the shadows of the trees, enjoying the fight from the sidelines. Throughout the battle, Orochimaru could hardly hold back his delight.

"Truly, how perfect. Not only can I be rid of the damned blonde, hopefully the useless blonde would at least tire out the demon fox. Then… Kukuku." Orochimaru chuckled under his breath, already making plans to swoop in and steal the Kyuubi for himself in his excitement. Although Orochimaru wasn't entirely sure poisons and the like would work on it, Orochimaru did have a few test subjects to at least seal the fox in. Nothing fancy of course, since all he wanted was to temporarily store the Kyuubi for future experiments.

Orochimaru's attention was quickly brought back to the battlefield, as the battle reached its climax.

Minato no longer had the energy to suppress the pain from the gaping hole in his gut, an earlier injury by the Kyuubi's claws. Leaning past Kushina's still body, Minato brought a shaky finger to draw a seal on Naruto's forehead.

"As your father, I am a failure… for condemning you to a life of pain… The least I can do is leave you this seal...If it's the villagers I know and love... they will overcome the darkness in their hearts… accept you and love you as a hero... But, as humans... it is possible that the darkness overcomes them. At least with this seal... even if you are stripped of your life as a girl... you can at least live as a boy... but only should the need to arise." Minato truly believed in his fellow villagers and was thus unwilling to let his daughter grow up thinking that she was a boy.

Minato somehow managed to squeeze out some of his chakra as he channelled it into the seal, giving Naruto the knowledge of how to activate the seal. Whispering his final words, Minato greedily took in the sight of his beloved daughter for what he knew was the last time, as he turned to look at his now dead wife. Planting a small but firm kiss to Kushina's cold lips, Minato finished the sealing.

"Hakke no Fuuin!"

Minato could feel the final traces of his chakra leave his battered body, which had long since surpassed its limit.

 _Before I forget… Naruto. I- We, will always love… you…_

Lacking the strength to articulate his message, Minato's thoughts sluggishly drew to an end. Distantly, Minato could feel his body falling, as the darkness enveloped him.

(Present time)

The blonde had finally breathed his last.

"His refusal to die is much like a cockroach, how unamusing." Orochimaru's sneer grew more pronounced as he prodded the body with a foot. No response. Satisfied, Orochimaru pried the sleeping lump of flesh from the blonde's iron grip.

"However, his spawn on the other hand, is interesting. In fact,"Orochimaru noted with a rising glee. "As much as I am loathe to admit it, it has the blood of strong clans flowing in its veins. If I consider the Uzumaki's hardiness and finesse with seals, and factor in the Namikaze clan's speed, the brat will grow up to be a most useful test subject. Perhaps, if honed well, I could use it as a minion or a possible body candidate. Of course, only if it possesses a female's body. And with the Kyuubi added in the mix… If this thing is not female, I will make it one."

Orochimaru's mind worked in overdrive, contemplating the many evils and experiments he could do on it. However, Orochimaru quickly snapped back to attention, as he scanned his surroundings one last time. After discovering nothing of interest, Orochimaru disappeared from the clearing with the child.

By the time Sarutobi and his men had arrived, all traces of Orochimaru had already faded. Sarutobi allowed a single tear to roll down his face. Bending down, he dragged a hand across Minato's and Kushina's eyes, shutting them. Sarutobi's gaze was filled with grief as he gave them once last look, before resolutely ordering the ANBU to take them away.

As the men left the clearing, it regained its original state of tranquility. Years flashed by, and the "Kyuubi's Massacre" soon became no more than a childhood tale that spoke of the Yondaime's courage and his sacrifice.

(Current year)

A sudden chakra flare shook the underground lab as it expanded like an earthquake throughout Konoha. Everywhere, people were screaming in shock and fear. Even civilians who could not sense chakra understood- the Kyuubi Massacre was happening again.

Back in the lab, Orochimaru was not faring any better. He recoiled from the source of the terror. The killer intent was overpowering him.

"Oh shit." Cursing was completely out of Orochimaru's character and that meant one thing- shit was actually going down.

The body on the operating table trashed wildly in pain. Orochimaru had injected another weird concoction into her, and despite the anaesthesia taking effect, it still hurt like hell. Worse than hell. This wasn't the first time the anaesthesia had failed on Naruto, but it was the first time she had felt this much physical pain. It was like every single blood vessel in Naruto's body, even the ones she didn't know about, had lava pumped through it instead of blood. And it was flowing too thick. Too fast. Distant screams filled Naruto's ears. Had she been in less pain, she might have stopped to realise those were her screams. However, the pain left no room for such frivolity.

Naruto's body trashed even more wildly. A coat of visible, orange chakra was forming over Naruto, like a second layer of skin. To Orochimaru's mounting horror, stumps of chakra that looked like tails were rapidly growing out of Naruto's rear end, swinging violently in show of her pain. Before Orochimaru could reign in his shock, 6 whole tails had grown and it didn't look like it was anywhere near the end. Without wasting another second, Orochimaru pushed past the doctors to his office.

Time was of essence. Although it was a pity Orochimaru could not take his favourite test subject without having the whole of Konoha chasing him to the ends of the world, he would at least be able to take his precious documents. There was no way that Orochimaru would leave his life's worth of research to be discovered by the peace-loving buffoons in Konoha or worse, the one-eyed lunatic Danzo. Those people would never appreciate it, and even if they did, they were bound to use it for stupid reasons- reasons so beneath Orochimaru that he would never even consider them.

If Naruto had thought the pain earlier was bad, she had been mistaken. The pain was soaring to unimaginable heights. It felt like her skin had been seared off repeatedly, no doubt leaving her flesh a bloody red. The pain eclipsed all of Naruto's mental functions, as it finally drew her away from reality. Was she finally dying?

 _Drip. Drip._ A wet liquid dripped onto Naruto's face.

Naruto groaned in displeasure. Slowly, she opened her eyes and took in her surroundings. "Oh hell! I didn't die."It was an odd thought to entertain, but that just showed how unbearable Naruto's life had been.

"Looks like Kurama-sama decided I wasn't beyond saving. Might as well go find him I guess."

Not being one to waste time, Naruto deftly maneuvered her way around the sewer passages. Even though the sewers were a mental reflection of Naruto's state of mind, she really could not get used to the stench. Thankfully, it was over all too soon as Naruto came to a perfect rest in front of a large set of bars. The giant fox was already waiting for her, its large head resting on its paws as it lay as close to the front of the cage as it could. Upon seeing its favourite blonde arriving, Kurama raised its head. **"Brat! Who do you think you are, making me wait!"**

At least the blonde had the nerve to look guilty, as Naruto rubbed her hand against the back of her neck. "Sorry, Kurama-sama. I thought I was dead for a moment there."

Kurama simply brushed Naruto's apologies aside, as it got down to business. **"Hmmph, you aren't but you will be."** Before Naruto could cut the great bijuu off mid-speech, it continued without so much as a pause. **"To be more exact, you were dying. You had a bad reaction to whatever the snake injected into you, but since you tapped into my chakra, you're now out of danger. Though, last I checked, you were starting to grow an 8th tail."**

As if in response to Kurama's words, the cage gave an eerie creak.

"... And I guess growing 8 tails is bad?"

The hinges of the cage were now groaning ominously, the sounds only getting louder.

" **Very."**

The cage was now slightly open, forming a gap just big enough to fit the average male adult.

"... So what's going to happen?" Naruto asked hesitantly, already fearing the worst. It did not help that the usually arrogant-bastard-of-a-kyuubi was unnaturally subdued, as if it was resigned to whatever fate that was coming. This frightened Naruto more than anything, as she mustered her guts and repeated her question.

" **.. If you're lucky, the ANBU and the hokage, that would no doubt come, would be more than enough to subdue you. Or things could get worse and you'll end up killing the whole village."** Naruto paled at this. Her body suddenly felt unnaturally heavy as Naruto sunk to the ground, not noticing the slight splash of the water. "That… That can't be." Naruto's voice was thin. Too thin. "There… There must be some way! S-Something we can do!" Naruto's mind was numb, slow to process.

Kurama eyes rested on the broken figure before it turned away. Kurama simply shook its head sadly.

On a normal occasion, Kurama would have rejoiced in the killings. Relished in it even. However, Kurama had grown fond of its current host, even if it refused to admit so, and Kurama knew how sensitive she could get about killing.

Killing scared Naruto.

And when Naruto did kill, it left her as a broken mess. With Kurama's limited understanding of humans, it was unable to help her. And some part of the Kurama ached each time it saw Naruto hollowly respond "It's okay, I am fine". Thus, Kurama did its best to help Naruto avoid killing, killing in her place whenever he could. However, Naruto was just too kind. Even if Naruto had technically not been in control when committing the act, Naruto truly believed that it was her fault since it was her body doing it. During all the previous times, Naruto had only personally killed one person. But now, if Naruto were to decimate the whole village, there was no way she would come out from this fine.

"N-No, I have to do so-something."Even though Naruto knew it was hopeless, Naruto could not stop herself from trying to use her puny body to hold the gates together. Tears were streaming down Naruto's face fast, as the space between the gates only continued to grow larger, unhindered.

"Why does nothing ever work out?" Naruto threw her head back as she all but screamed.

All of a sudden, almost as if it was a gift sent by god, the gates stopped opening before it slammed shut. Stunned by the sudden turn of events, Naruto scanned her surroundings. Naruto's eyes eventually landed on a blonde male. On his shoulders rested a flowing cape that read "Yondaime Hokage".

Almost as if too afraid to believe that the disaster had been avoided, Naruto's gaze remained riveted on the gates. After who knows how long, Naruto was sufficiently reassured that the worst had come to pass. Relief washed over her in waves.

"It's over! I'm not going to kill people! It's over!" Unable to suppress her relief, Naruto cheered loudly in her happiness, until a soft 'thud' behind her caught her attention.

Fear replaced Naruto's previous relief as the sudden realisation of a stranger in her mind struck Naruto. And what was worse was the fact that Yondaime wasn't any stranger, he was the Yondaime Hokage- a dead man! Well, at least his coat said he was. And all the knowledge forced upon Naruto's brain confirmed that only the Yondaime Hokage had a coat as flamboyant as this- in the exact shade of orange and yellow, in the exact wording.

Cautiously, Naruto turned around, all five senses straining to catch the slightest change.

"… I guess you're feeling very confused right now. How about I take you somewhere else for a nice long talk? We're not going to be as productive with that unfriendly fox around." The Yondaime's voice was gentle as he calmly joked, evidently unafraid of the caged bijuu.

"It's fine if we talk here. Kyuubi-sama will only interfere if he has to." Naruto firmly rejected his offer without hesitation. Naruto once again adopted the Kyuubi's common name, knowing that the fox was selective in who could call it, or even know it, by its true name.

The Yondaime gritted his teeth, as his eyes narrowed dangerously at the respectful address. "You're familiar with the Kyuubi? Naruto, you shouldn't get too close to it or else you might get tricked. The Kyuubi is cunning, so it might use you to free itself."

"Kyuubi-sama isn't like that! Even though he can be mean at times, he's the only one who treats me nicely! Besides, how do I know you're not just badmouthing Kyuubi-sama so that I'll trust you over Kyuubi-sama? I don't even know you but you know my name."

A complex expression settled on his face as he fell silent, a bitter smile tracing his lips. Before Naruto, he seemed to be having an internal war with himself. Naruto could see the flashes of emotions in his eyes, yet the only ones she registered with anger and worry. It puzzled Naruto why the Yondaime would feel any worry for her. Maybe guilt if one pushed it, but there was no reason really for him to worry about her.

Finally, the Yondaime seemed to have arrived at some decision as he sat himself on the sewer floor. The sudden movement startled Naruto as she visibly flinched. Naruto could not be blamed really, for no one would expect her to so easily warm up to a stranger.

"Fine, we won't move. Come sit here, I'll explain everything to you." The Yondaime patted the ground next to her, a warm smile on his face.

Instinctively, Naruto turned to look at Kurama. Naruto was unsure of what she should do, having always hated the Yondaime for making her suffer so much pain, even as she knew this had never been in his intentions. That and his aura made him seem trustworthy, and Naruto was slowly starting to trust him.

Although, only a little.

" **Go to him."** Kurama did not even bother to explain himself. **"I'll give the both of you some privacy. Use the time I have given you wisely."** With an arrogant air, Kurama simply turned around and stalked off deep into his cage, blatantly ignoring Naruto's cries calling it back.

As the final traces of Kurama disappeared within the darkness of his cage, Naruto understood that Kurama was serious. Despite her nervousness, Naruto had utter faith in Kurama and she apprehensively walked over to sit beside the smiling Yondaime.

With Naruto settled beside him, the Yondaime pondered out loud. "Now, where should I start?"

"How about from how you know me?" Naruto answered. She had not realised that the Yondaime's question was merely rhetorical.

The Yondaime looked stunned for a moment, before he quickly regained his senses. "From how I know you huh… Then I guess I'll just have to start from the beginning." The Yondaime smiled wistfully as he narrated to Naruto the story of his youth, and how he met her mother and everything else that happened up until the night of the Kyuubi attack.

"We were at our wits' end. Kushina's body was too weak from childbirth to hold the Kyuubi and I knew without a doubt that we couldn't just let the Kyuubi die, or another tragedy will begin when the Kyuubi is reborn into the world. After sealing the Kyuubi within you, we barely had time to say goodbye before we died." Minato sighed sadly, remembering how Kushina had died in his arms.

"But if it wasn't for that snake." Minato suddenly seemed to remember something as his hands clenched tightly into fists. "To think Orochimaru would make you into his test subject. I have failed you as a father, Naruto. Nothing I say will change anything but… for all it's worth, I'm so so sorry."

Minato's head was bowed, his fringe serving to shield his facial features from Naruto's vision. However, though Naruto might not have been able to see his face, she could clearly sense his anguish. Gently raising a hand to rest on Minato's shoulder, Naruto gently smiled.

"It's okay, I'm not upset or anything. In the past I did hate you because I thought you sealing Kyuubi-sama in me had sealed my fate, and any chances I had of happiness. But now I know better. In me, I carry you and Mama's hopes and dreams, and I'll definitely make you proud… Papa."

The last word was uttered so softly that Minato nearly missed it. "Papa… Can you repeat that, Naruto?"

"... Papa." Naruto's voice was slightly louder this time, even as an unmistakably red tinge coloured her cheeks.

Minato looked dumbstruck for an instant, before he cheered in joy. "Papa! You called me Papa!" Minato repeated dumbly, before he picked Naruto up and spun her around in circles, laughing all the while. Naruto was shocked for a few moments, before she too found herself laughing cheerfully at the excitement her dad was radiating.

Her dad. An hour ago, the word dad would have been such a foreign concept to her. She had thought of what it would be like to have a father, but it was not until this moment that she felt the true bliss of family. No amount of preparation would ever have made her ready for this moment.

A rather loud cough disturbed their moment of happiness. **"I hate to burst your bubbles but there are shinobi approaching. Besides, the Yondaime will fade away soon enough so I suggest that the both of you properly say your farewells now."**

"Fade away? What do you mean Papa will fade away?" Naruto asked confusedly. "Papa, are you leaving me?"

By then, Minato had stopped spinning Naruto as he guiltily evaded her eyes. "I'm sorry Naruto. I'm only a chakra residue left in your mind. The amount of chakra I have was already limited, and when it runs out…" Minato did not have to finish his thought since Naruto already understood. He was going to leave her. Again.

"No, no, no. No!" Naruto shouted, so suddenly that Minato nearly dropped her. "We just met! You can't just leave now. You- you can't just leave me alone again. There has to be a way, isn't there?"

Naruto stared into Minato's eyes as he gently lowered her onto the ground. Minato smiled bitterly, unable to bring himself to say a single word for fearing of crushing Naruto's spirits even further.

"Kurama-sama, there has to be a way! Wait, Papa is a chakra apparition right? How about I inject my chakra into him? Then he'll be able to continue living inside my head." With Naruto's head in a mess, Naruto subconsciously switched back to her usual form of addressing the Kyuubi.

" **Brat, just give up. Your chakra is too impure. If you inject your chakra into the Yondaime, you'll only be killing him faster. Just say your goodbyes and move on."**

"Then… Then if the chakra is pure, does that mean Papa will be able to live?" Naruto looked towards Kurama hopefully, not even trying to disguise her intentions. Kurama's face instantly contorted with disgust as it caught on.

" **Give up on that thinking. I am the great Kyuubi no Kitsune. I WILL NOT give my chakra to an ant like the Yondaime under any circumstances."**

"Please, Kurama-sama." Naruto knelt down before the gigantic figure in the cage, tears flowly freely from her eyes. "I beg you, please save my father. I will do anything in return. If you want, I can even release your seal and let you roam free again."

"Naruto!" Minato quickly ran to her side and pulled Naruto onto her feet. "Don't be so reckless. If you release the seal you'll die, and the Kyuubi definitely cannot be released under any circumstances. As soon as he is released, he'll be an easy target for Madara's Mangekyo, and we can't afford to let him be captured."

" **INSOLENCE. Are you belittling the ability of the great me, Kyuubi?"**

"You know as well as I do that the bijuus' natural enemy are the Mokuton and the Sharingan. The seal has some safety features designed to increase your resistance to the Mangekyo, so you'll at least be safer behind these bars than outside."

Kurama could only click his tongue in annoyance as he could not find a way to refute Minato's statement. As he returned his attention to the sobbing child at his feet, Kurama could only sigh in resignation. If he did not give into the child's whims this time, the rest of his days would be a pain and a lot of trouble.

" **Fine, I will accede to your request just this once. Do not look to me for help in the future."** At the same time as he stopped speaking, a current of red chakra entered into Minato's body. Minato could not help but grimace as it felt as if his entire body was on fire. Thankfully, it was over all too soon.

" **The amount of chakra I have bestowed on you is limited, if not my chakra will take over your mind. Now stop bothering me."** With a swish of its tail, Kurama retreated deep into his cage.

Naruto could not be bothered with Kurama for the time being as she ran over to check on her father. Only after making sure that Minato was alright did Naruto finally heave a sigh of relief.

It finally seemed like things were going well again.

* * *

A/N: I won't keep to a schedule for this story but I will try to upload at least one chapter per week! Also, reviews and useful criticisms are appreciated. Hope y'all will like this series :) On a sidenote, I'm trying a different take from the usual 'Orochimaru experiments on Naruto and creates a god mode Naruto' kind of story so hope it's not too confusing!


	2. Chapter 2: Konoha

Soon after Naruto left her mindscape, she could hear the sounds of footsteps drawing closer.

 _Four sets of footfalls._

Assuming their skill level to be somewhere near Orochimaru's, she judged the distance between them and estimated that they would reach in about a couple of minutes. At this moment, Minato hastily instructed her to lie down and pretend to be unconscious, which she did.

 _Naruto! The seal!_

 _Seal? Oh!_ Understanding her father's intentions, Naruto channeled her chakra towards the center of her forehead. Soon, her long blonde locks disappeared and were replaced by short unruly hair that spiked all over the place. Simultaneously, her features grew less feminine and more angular. Overall, she looked just like a boy. (A/N: I'll switch to calling her a boy from her since she looks like a boy, but Naruto's still a girl)

A second after he closed his eyes, the footfalls stopped right outside the door. Imagining the people outside making signals to each other and what not, Naruto waited patiently as the door soon swung open. It was quiet for a few moments, before someone appeared next to him. The movement was so sudden that Naruto nearly jumped in surprise, yet he somehow managed to maintain his image of unconsciousness.

Low murmurs were exchanged- too low for him to pick up any information of could hear the sounds of people rifling through papers as the presence next to him kept its focus trained on him, not allowing a single movement of his to escape its notice. Finally, after an unbearably long wait, he could sense the people regrouping around him as they exchanged signals, before he found himself moving through the air.

It took all of his concentration to not recoil his body from the physical contact, as he was hoisted over someone's shoulder in what seemed like a fireman's lift. Before he had time to regain his bearings, he found himself being carried at high speeds. The sounds of leaves rustled in the background as they travelled through the air. In the background, various bird calls and insect cries could be heard. Despite his closed eyes, he could sense that they were travelling in a triangular formation with a person in the middle- that person most likely being the leader of this squad.

Currently, Naruto was relying on every fibre of his being to not reveal that he was actually conscious, in order to escape the man's physical hold. Despite having only been in Orochimaru's lab for several years, that was long enough to leave him with a slightly sociopathic personality and a strong phobia of people. Especially men. And he was more than certain it was a he, judging from the broad shoulders and the fact that the man was was rather muscular. In fact, Naruto could feel his lean muscles bursting with strength with each chakra-powered step he took.

Redirecting his senses away from the man's physique, a faint scratching sound entered Naruto's ears, which closely resembled the sound of cloth against skin.

 _Perhaps that person was wearing a bandage or a mask of some sort?_

Naruto briefly considered to himself. Receiving the information that Naruto took in as he processed his surroundings, Minato fell into a contemplative silence for the first time that night. Curiously, Naruto directed his attention inwards.

 _Papa? Is something wrong?_

Almost as soon as he saw Minato in his mindscape, Naruto ran up to him and asked concernedly.

 _It's nothing. Just that by the clues we are getting and from your memories, I can pretty much safely conclude that we're in Konoha or somewhere near its vicinity._

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise. With his eyes shut, they basically had no information to go by yet Minato had somehow managed to approximate their location.

 _Konoha? How do you know that?_

 _The sounds. The chirping sounds that you hear belong to a species of bird native to Konoha. That and if you remember, the… visitors of the lab mostly wore the Konoha hitai-te. Thinking along these lines, I would say my guesses or more or less correct._

Naruto fell into a silence. Minato's words had brought up less happy memories of his time in the lab, and of days that he would rather not remember for the rest of his life. Thinking of the horrors of the lab still sent shudders through his body. Of course, only Naruto's mental apparition in his mindscape did so, as his physical body was too scared to move even a muscle.

 _Naruto._ Snapping her back out of her thoughts, Minato called out to him. _I want you to wake up soon and play the part of a child who is excited by everything. Can you do that?_

 _A child?_

Naruto, despite being only six, had never had much of a childhood so it was rather difficult to tell him to act like a child. However, he had received all kinds of training whilst under the damned snake so acting like a child shouldn't be too hard.

Nodding his head in understanding, Naruto left his mindscape. Soft groans escaped his lips as he pretended to stir while draped along the man's shoulder. Almost instantly, the man slowed to a stop just as Naruto opened his eyes to take in his surroundings.

Lush greenery greeted him as a crescent moon hung low in the night sky. Moonlight filtered through the few gaps among the thick canopy of the trees, such that Naruto could barely see a few feet in front of him without his enhanced senses. Pretending to suddenly realise that he was on someone's shoulder, Naruto made a startled sound of surprise as he tried to escape the man's grasp.

The man was surprisingly gentle as he set Naruto on the ground, stepping back to give him some personal space. It was at this moment Naruto could finally see the four people who had rescued her. Of the four, three were wearing masks. More specifically, a dog mask, a cat mask and a bird mask.

 _ANBU. As expected, Papa is right._

 _Aww. Naru-chan, you're too cute. Having so much faith in Papa._

Somehow, it seemed that recognising that the Shinobi were from Konoha had put Minato in a surprisingly good mood. Or maybe it was because Minato personally knew that the shinobi in front of them were trustworthy. Either ways, he was evidently in a good enough mood to make such lighthearted comments.

Barely able to stop himself from rolling her eyes, Naruto shifted his gaze to the old man standing in the center of the formation. He was dressed in black shinobi attire with a rod-like weapon hanging from his back. At the moment, he was smiling kindly as he moved to Naruto's side.

"Little boy, what's your name?"

"Naruto! Ojii-sama, where are we going?" Naruto's voice was overwhelmingly loud in the still night, as he excitedly replied the kind old man. He had to keep himself from laughing out at the sight of the four shinobi jumping at the unexpected volume of his voice.

"Do not speak to Hokage-sama with such disrespect." The ANBU wearing the bird mask suddenly spoke out, his tone heavy with disapproval.

"Tori." The man who was addressed as Hokage-sama angled himself to give the bird-masked ANBU a meaningful stare as he shook his head in warning. Aware that the latter had understood his meaning, he turned back to Naruto as he warmly continued.

"Well Naruto, Sandaime Ojii-sama. And we're heading for our home town, which is a shinobi village called Konoha. We're taking you along with us since we found you alone in the abandoned laboratory, alright?"

"Okay!" Naruto didn't even hesitate to answer as he responded excitedly. "Yay! I've never seen a village! Is the village going to be my new home?"

The Sandaime was slightly taken aback by the excitement in Naruto's voice, before he chuckled gently. Nodding his head, he replied with a short "yes", only to be greeted by the young boy's excited cheer as he did a dance out of happiness.

"Wah!" Naruto yelped, as he felt himself slip before a strong arm wrapped itself around him and lifted Naruto up. Realising for the first time that he was 20 feet above the ground a tree branch, Naruto gulped nervously.

"Thank you dog onii-chan!" The dog-masked ANBU had been the one to help Naruto, and he simply nodded his head in acknowledgement of the thanks. With a command from the Sandaime, he swung Naruto over to his back as the four resumed their journey back home, the scent of dog fur lingering in Naruto's nose.

When Naruto opened his eyes, he was greeted by the sight of what looked to be an office. The Sandaime was seated behind the table, in front of him. Blearily rubbing his eyes, Naruto realised that he had fallen asleep somewhere along the way, much to his astonishment. Naruto wasn't used to being so comfortable around strangers, but it did help that the dog-masked ANBU was a gentle person by nature.

In fact, Naruto soon noticed that his arms were still tightly wrapped around the dog-masked ANBU's neck as their face were only inches apart, It seemed that the ANBU had removed his mask some time ago and he would have dislodged Naruto from his back, if not for the fact that Naruto had stubbornly refused to let go.

Naruto took in his features. The ANBU was a good-looking guy, even as his silvery hair seemingly defied gravity. The ANBU's hitai-ate was lazily draped across his face such that it covered his left eye, and the other was currently looking right at Naruto.

"Eep!" Releasing his grasp, Naruto collapsed into a heap on the ground. The ANBU continued to stare at Naruto for a moment too long, before the ANBU returned his attention to the Sandaime. After being dismissed, the ANBU disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"I trust that you have slept well." Naruto turned his attention away from the cloud of smoke to the Sandaime as he cheerily replied. "Yep, Sandaime Ojii-sama! Sandaime Ojii-sama, can I ask a question?"

Slightly surprised, the Sandaime was blank for a while before he chuckled, nodding encouragingly.

"Who was the dog-masked onii-san who carried me just now? He seems like a really gentle person!" Naruto asked curiously. He clearly recognised the ANBU, in fact Naruto was almost certain that ANBU's name and face was in a bingo book that he had seen before. Yet, Naruto just couldn't seem to remember that person's name for the life of him.

The Sandaime had an amused glint in his eyes. "He is Hatake Kakashi, a jounin of Konoha and one that most would not call gentle."

 _Ahh! The Copy Ninja, that's right! No wonder he looked so familiar. Papa, isn't he a student of yours?_

A giggle resounded in Naruto's mindscape. _Yep, he is! Kakashi has grown up pretty well over these years even without me and Kushina around. And it looks like he has made quite a few friends as well._

Naruto chose to ignore the blatant excitement in Minato's voice. _How do you know he has made friends?_

 _Like what you said, he's gentler. When Kakashi was still a kid, he was very withdrawn and he would hardly look after people like he did for you just now!_

Tuning out the rest of Minato's excited rambling of how much Kakashi had changed, Naruto returned his focus back to his situation, only to see the Sandaime staring curiously at me. Upon seeing the confused look on Naruto's face, the Sandaime only smiled.

"As I was saying while you were distracted, Naruto, I have some questions that I want to ask you. And I would like you to be perfectly honest with me."

Already having a vague feeling where the conversation was headed towards, Naruto cheerfully gave the 'Okay!'.

"A few hours ago, in the laboratory that we found you in, there was a large surge of chakra. Do you know anything about it?" The Sandaime was no longer smiling as he closely observed Naruto's every action. The latter kept his face expressionless, neither answering or denying as he already knew that the Sandaime knew he was somehow connected with the Kyuubi's chakra surge. After all, all the other prisoners were locked up and in various states of mental retardation during the time of the experiment. Coupled with the fact that Naruto just happened to be in the most important room of the laboratory when they arrived, it wasn't difficult to put two and two together.

Taking his silence as an affirmation, Sarutobi decided to cut to the chase. "Naruto, are you the Kyuubi's jinchuuriki?"

Again, Naruto's face was placid, until he finally let out a resigned sigh.

"Yes." Naruto's answer was curt, as per Minato's instruction. Knowing that any lies at this point or attempts to dodge the question would only diminish the trust the Sandaime would have in Naruto, in the end they had both agreed that honesty is the best policy.

"But," Naruto quickly continued, seeing that the Sandaime was planning to ask more questions. Receiving the Sandaime's encouragement, Naruto got down into a half-kneeled position.

"Naruto-"

"If I may be so presumptuous to request that Sandaime sama does not reveal my identity as the Kyuubi's jinchuuriki." The Sandaime had leapt up in surprise at Naruto's sudden actions, only to receive a further shock when Naruto made his plea. Currently, the young boy had his fists cupped in front of him, his head bowed low such that the Sandaime could not read his expression.

Lapsing into a short silence, the Sandaime carefully considered Naruto's request, especially since it was the only request that Naruto had made thus far. However, he could only sigh helplessly in the end.

"I'm sorry Naruto. As much as I would like to agree to this request of yours, I cannot. The flare of chakra was clearly felt by the majority of the village and I have to give them a suitable explanation. At best, I can only delay the time before the news is released to the public to give you some time to make arrangements and settle down in the meantime." The Sandaime truly looked apologetic as he helplessly sighed once again.

Knowing that there wasn't much else that he could hope for, Naruto resumed his original standing position and proceeded to reply to the Sandaime's questions to the best of his ability, with Minato providing some help along the way.

Having finished with his questioning, the Sandaime arranged for an ANBU to take Naruto to the orphanage. Just as Naruto was about to leave the office, the Sandaime stopped him.

"Naruto, perhaps do you know about your family?"

Naruto paused for a split second, before he turned around and flashed the widest grin the Sandaime had ever seen. "Nope! I was kidnapped by Orochimaru on the day that I was born so I've got no idea about my family. Sorry bout that Sandaime Ojii-sama."

Being officially dismissed this time, Naruto left the room with an impassive expression.


	3. Chapter 3: New Life

"From now on, this will be your new home." To Naruto's disappointment, the one who led her to the orphanage had been the bird-masked ANBU. In all honesty, Naruto's impression of this ANBU was the lowest. However, he tried not to let his true feelings show.

"Thank, bird-san! Bye bye!" Adopting an idiotically happy grin, Naruto cheerily waved goodbye to the bird-masked ANBU even as he secretly wished that they would never cross paths again. As the ANBU vanished in a swirl of leaves, Naruto braced himself as he opened the doors of what would be his new residence.

Despite it being late in the night, the adults were wide awake and running about as they tried to settle the children down. Undoubtedly, the earlier chakra surge had frightened the children which resulted in the current mayhem.

"Erm…" Naruto was not sure of what to do as he awkwardly stood at the entrance, watching everyone busying around. While Naruto could just walk up and take whatever available room, Minato had insisted on Naruto observing a polite attitude. Thus, Naruto could only stand at the doorway helplessly while waiting for someone to notice him.

Finally, someone did, as a lady who looked to be somewhere in her early 20s approached him.

"Hey there!" The girl, who definitely was someone experienced in handling little kids, gently greeted. "My name is Satoshi, what's your name little boy?"

Still adopting the same idiotic grin, Naruto cheerily replied. "Hey! I'm Naruto! I'm new to the village and Hokage-sama arranged for me to live here since I'm an orphan!"

Hearing Naruto's surprisingly articulate speech for a kid who appeared barely five, Satoshi was surprised, which in turn caused Naruto to raise his eyebrows. No one had seemed to find the way he spoke weird earlier so Naruto naturally assumed that he had been perfectly playing the role of a child. Apparently Naruto was the only who thought so.

Snapping herself back together, Satoshi replaced her expression with a smile. "What a smart boy you are. Follow me, Naruto-kun. I'll take you to your new room!" Satoshi seemed to be in a hurry as she hastily moved to lead Naruto to his new room. The orphanage did not seem too big from the outside, however upon entering his new room, Naruto found that his room was rather comfortable and spacious.

The room was simply furnished- with only a desk and bed. However, Naruto was a low-maintenance kind of person so the bare necessities was all that he needed. Before Naruto could thank Satoshi for leading him to his room, she had disappeared off to who knows where.

Shrugging his shoulders, Naruto closed the door and settled himself on his bed. Now that he was alone to himself, Naruto could finally relax for the first time in what seemed like forever. Adjusting himself into a comfortable position, Naruto receded into his mindscape. As Naruto's mental apparition appeared in his mindscape, the familiar blonde locks framed Naruto's face. (A/N: I'll refer to Naruto as a boy, other than when it's inside her mindscape then I'll refer to Naruto as a girl)

It was only to be expected that Naruto was still more comfortable in her female form. With a sincere smile gracing her lips, Naruto eagerly navigated her mindscape as she advanced towards one of the nicer rooms that Minato had settled himself in . The room was dark and had a slightly musty smell, but it was definitely infinitely times better than staying in the other sewer-like rooms. After all, you can only take what you get.

"Papa, I've settled down in the orphanage." Almost like she was giving a report, Naruto informed Minato despite already knowing that he was fully aware of the ongoing situation outside.

"Mmm, good job out there Naru-chan! You did well." Minato sincerely praised, as he affectionately tousled her hair.

 _Naru-chan?_

Naruto slightly raised her eyebrows at the newly coined nickname bestowed upon her. Earlier when Minato had called her that, Naruto had not had the spare mental capacity to notice the nickname. But now that she was within the safety of the confines of her mindscape, Naruto realised that she quite enjoyed having Minato call her 'Naru-chan'.

"So how are you feeling, Papa? Does Kurama-sama's chakra cause you any discomfort or pain?" Slightly embarrassed, Naruto instinctively shifted the conversation to Minato's condition, which was also something that had been worrying her since earlier.

An amused smile traced Minato's lips for the briefest moments, which was quickly replaced by a megawatt grin as Minato rubbed Naruto's head lovingly, overjoyed at his daughter's concern.

"Well, it still doesn't feel like it's my own chakra but there isn't any more pain from earlier so I would say everything is good." Minato assured her. Suddenly thinking of something, Minato opened his arms as a cheeky grin hung on his lips. Naruto, being the intelligent child she is, understood Minato's intentions as her head dipped in slight embarrassment. Not wasting another second, Naruto dove into Minato's embrace as strong arms enveloped gently around her.

Snuggled comfortably against her father, it was the first time Naruto truly felt at home. The safety and security she felt while within Minato's arms at that moment made the six years worth of suffering completely worth it. In fact, Naruto felt as if she was a caged bird that had finally reached home.

That night, both of them were too excited for sleep as Minato told Naruto all kinds of stories- about his childhood, about Kushina, his genin team, and his sensei. The whole time, Naruto simply stared at Minato with stars in her eyes, as a part of her was still unable to believe that Minato was actually there, right by her side.

 _If only this moment could last forever._

In a blink of an eye, night had turned to morning. As Naruto left her mindscape, she found it slightly amiss that no one had come to get her. After all, the sun had risen a good few hours ago. Even though Naruto was not feeling particularly hungry, she figured she should at least try to get some food into her system whilst finding an opportunity to scout out the situation in the orphanage.

Having decided, Naruto headed for the canteen. Despite not knowing the layout of the orphanage, Naruto had been able to pick up the sounds of cutlery against ceramic amidst the mayhem during the previous night, which had probably been caused by a carer's attempt to calm down the children through food. Anyhow, that had been more than enough for her to vaguely determine the direction of the canteen.

As soon as Naruto set foot within the canteen, the chattering stilled. Bemused but not allowing it to show, Naruto plastered a wide grin on her face as she walked towards the food collection area. Recognising the person serving breakfast to be Satoshi, Naruto was about to greet her when he paused in surprise.

Cold. That was what Naruto thought when he saw Satoshi's placid expression. Naruto was startled, his brain working a mile an hour as he wondered what could have happened in the span of a night to warrant such a change in treatment. And it also did not help that Minato had suddenly gone silent in her head. Having only himself to rely on, Naruto pretended not to notice all the unexplained changes as he resumed his cheerful greetings. "Morning, Satoshi-san! May I have some food please?"

Naruto had flashed Satoshi the most sincere smile that he could muster, hoping against hope that his politeness would earn him some brownie points from the unusually stoic carer. However, Satoshi's expression only grew colder as she rather violently threw a slice of plain bread at Naruto. "Demon, how dare you act friendly with me. Take your food and beat it!"

Naruto's smile wavered as he instinctively caught the slice of bread. Whilst he was still lost in his confusion, snippets of conversation unwittingly drifted into his ears.

"So that's the demon that caused the disturbance last night."

"Did you know that 6 years ago, that kid killed many villagers?"

"Wow, what a monster! Scary!"

Naruto could hear the carers and the children gossiping about him, all of them acting as if he was not currently standing right in the middle of the room and was not perfectly able to hear the less than pleasant rumours being discussed. The carers blatant antagonism and the children's' morbid curiosity were also not helping Naruto's mental state, as they only served to rub salt into Naruto's already aching wounds.

 _What's happening? Do they know about Orochimaru? But Sandaime Ojii-sama said that he'll delay the release of the information. So, why…_

 _That liar._

Having heard enough, Naruto practically fled from the room with his single slice of bread. Once back in the safe confines of his room, Naruto wedged a chair underneath the door knob. Only when Naruto was certain that no one would be able to enter his room did he dare to relax on his bed. Not wasting another second, Naruto quickly settled himself into a comfortable position before he slipped into his mindscape.

Once again entering the familiar corridors, Naruto did not bother greeting Minato as she dashed straight into his arms. Her fists were clenched so tightly her knuckles turned white, as Naruto buried her face into Minato's chest. Unable to do much to comfort her, Minato could only rubbed soothing circles on Naruto's back as he waited for her to reign in her emotions.

When Naruto had finally calmed down somewhat, she mumbled into Minato's flak jacket. "Why? Why did they say I killed people, Papa? I've never killed anyone. And I'm not a demon, nor am I a monster."

Naruto's voice died towards the end as her grief overcame her. Minato's expression was grim as he pulled her back to get a clear view of her face. Only after ensuring that Naruto was looking into his eyes, Minato enunciated each syllable slowly and clearly. "You are not a monster. Neither are you a demon. No matter what anyone says, you're my daughter and both your mother and I are so incredibly proud of you. And we both love you the most in the world, never forget that!"

Minato continued to stare into Naruto's eyes until he was certain that she had gotten his message. Though the tension never quite left his eyes, Minato managed to relax somewhat as he enveloped Naruto in a tight hug. Now more than ever, the figure in Minato's arms seemed so small and weak, and it tore at Minato's heart to see Naruto suffering like this.

A grim determination blazed within MInato's eyes, as an idea suddenly occurred to him.

"Naruto, do you want to learn about seals?"

Naruto was a little taken aback at the sudden and unexpected question. Quickly squirming out of Minato's embrace, Naruto took a good long look at his expression. Upon seeing the seriousness in his eyes, a foxy grin emerged on Naruto's face.

"After all the stories you told me about mama and you being seal masters? Of course!" If it was possible, the grin on Naruto's face had somehow managed to grow wider to the point that it looked almost painful. Yet, her eagerness was undeniable.

Despite the excitement that Naruto was practically radiating, Minato could not quite bring himself to smile. With his face stuck somewhere being a grin and a grimace, Minato seated Naruto down. Naruto watched Minato curiously as the latter was uncharacteristically serious whilst he launched into a detailed explanation of the basics of sealing theory.

Naruto was so focused on Minato's teachings that she failed to notice the slight darkening of Minato's eyes to a shade of ocean blue, as he engraved a silent oath upon his heart.

 _I know I don't have much time left with you. So at least, before I disappear, I'll teach you how to protect yourself._

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A/N: Thanks a lot for the reviews, favourites and follows! It makes me happy knowing that there are people that appreciate my stories and hope y'all like this chapter too! :)


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